I’m not Taiwanese, but I would venture to guess that this is probably the most famous export out of Taiwan–other than bubble tea, of course. I fell in love with Three Cup Chicken from the first time I tried it at a now-closed Taiwanese restaurant in Denver. It is sweet, yet undeniably savory… earthy in its appeal, but sharp with the bite of Thai basil… Chinese in preparation, but Taiwanese in home-cooked execution. Everything I’ve had since my initial foray into Taiwanese food has more or less conveyed the same sense of practicality and no-nonsense attitude. Just because it’s more homey than fanciful doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it, however–if anything, I find it deeply satisfying. Dishes like popcorn chicken and beef noodle soup aren’t going to be haute cuisine anytime soon, but they don’t need to be… and they don’t care to be, either.

I started making Three Cup Chicken a few years ago, but every recipe I found was just a wee bit off from that first magical bite I had some years ago… too sweet, too bland, too salty! Pretty silly for a recipe that is quite literally named Three Cup for a reason: one teacup of soy sauce, one teacup of rice wine, one teacup of sesame oil. But after tinkering around recently, I’ve settled on this recipe that I’ve been able to consistently reproduce. Yay!

Velvet-ing the chicken, or breaking down the muscle fibers in the chicken to create a more “velvet” texture, isn’t usually necessary for thighs since they’re more tender than breasts. However, I really loved the softness of the chicken and the flavor that the marinade imparts, so I incorporated that into my version. Other than the “cups” for the sauce and the aromatics, the spice and sweetness of the dish can be easily adjusted to your taste preferences.

The only ingredient I have to insist you do not substitute is Thai basil. Italian basil won’t create the sharp, aromatic flavor that contrasts so well with the sweetness of the sauce. Use it if you must, but know that the chicken will taste far from authentic if you substitute the basil.

Being able to recreate a popular dish from James’ ethnic homeland makes my heart happy! I hope this easy recipe encourages you to not only try making it, but to try other Taiwanese food as well.

I’d like to interrupt my Sichuan fest for something a little sweeter (and a lot healthier, to be sure).

But first, some back story…

I have this awful habit of buying a ton of vegetables all at once with nothing but good intentions… anyone who has opened our fridge to see a vegetable garden staring back at them can attest to that. I rationalize these purchases with ambitious recipes: “I’m going to use this gigantic surplus of green beans and make three separate dishes with them!” “I’ve always wanted to make a recipe involving Chinese eggplant.” And so, I return from the market with armfuls of vegetables and a list of future dishes in my head.

The inherent flaw in all of this, of course, is that James and I are only two people and two people cannot possibly eat a fridge full of vegetables in the time it takes for these vegetables to go past their fresh date. And if that weren’t bad enough, I’ll routinely forget about vegetables I’ve bought if they’re obscured from sight by other vegetables. It’s a terrible cycle of waste… and it can get pretty gross, too. A few days ago, I threw away a red onion that was as soft as an over-ripe peach…

I’ve gotten much, much better about this over the past few months (yes, only a few months–imagine all of the food I’ve wasted!) but sometimes it’ll come back to haunt me. Today, I was re-arranging the fridge to fit a few more things in it and I found a cauliflower head that I had “bought and forgot” last week. Aiya. Thankfully, I happened to have the ingredients for a pineapple fried rice just lying around… so I whipped up a version with cauliflower rice instead. And it was delicious!

Curry and cauliflower are already great friends, but throw fresh pineapple and raisins into the mix, with some cashew crunchiness… and it’s low-carb heaven. And because it’s rather healthy, I don’t feel any shame in admitting that I ate this entire thing myself! (Not in one sitting though… pretty sure I would explode if I tried to eat that much all at once.)

I love shrimp in fried rice/fried cauliflower rice, but you can easily substitute it with the protein of your choice. I forgot to add the green onions on top–but I think it’s worth adding them because I love the fresh crunch they add to the dish! And lastly, while canned pineapple is a great substitute, nothing beats the taste and mouthfeel of a fresh pineapple–so if you can, use fresh instead!

This is my second in a series of Sichuan recipes–yes, I’m obsessed–and it’s a dish I’ve actually posted on here before, albeit a different style (Japanese-style, to be specific). So what’s the difference? Why post the same thing twice?

Sichuan mapo tofu has a heartier taste, with an emphasis on both the spiciness of the chili flakes and the numbing spiciness of the prickly ash. I might be biased, since I’m in the throes of passion for all things Sichuan right now, but I’m inclined to like this version of mapo tofu better… to each his own, though!

I’ve definitely been influenced by my first recipe, though–a lot of the Sichuan recipes I found online omit the garlic, ginger, or both. I am disinclined to leave out what I view as staple aromatics for Chinese cooking, so I decided to keep them as ingredients and use them in the same way I did for the Japanese recipe. And while recipes varied widely on the amount of ground meat used, I decided to stick to my guns and continue to use 5 oz. It’s just what we prefer at home–if you want to put more emphasis on the tofu, feel free to add less.

The most important part about cooking Sichuan food is making sure your ingredients are specifically from Sichuan or are Sichuan-style. Japanese and Korean stores both carry versions of doubanjiang and dou chi (spicy fermented bean paste and fermented black beans, respectively) but neither will have the same intense flavors that are so characteristic of Sichuan cooking. If you can, drop by your local Chinese market and look for these two ingredients. They are literally two of the cornerstones of Sichuan cooking, and are completely worth the search. (And while you’re at it, make sure you have Sichuan red peppercorns, okay? Remember how I mentioned that roasting and grinding them makes crack powder? Go get ’em!)

If you’re worried about the spice level, you can always dial back the amount of chili flakes you add in the recipe; the amount I’ve listed is moderately mild. If you’re crazy like me and James, you can always add more chili flakes and experience that numbing heat that makes Sichuan so addictive for us!

Actually, I’m pretty sure anyone who has talked to me within the last few months would know this…

The real love affair (sorry, James) started when I finally got a clue and figured out how to really enjoy Sichuan peppercorns:

Dry-roast the peppercorns until they are pungent in a wok

Grind the peppercorns in a spice grinder at the “fine” setting

Pour through a sieve into an airtight container (to filter out the stems and husks)

Sprinkle that sh–um, I mean stuff –on everything!

The ground, roasted Sichuan peppercorns stay crisp and fresh in flavor and scent for a month; I dry-roasted ½ cup a few weeks ago and I’ve still got a few tablespoons left over, so I would suggest roasting much less if you don’t favor Chinese or Sichuan food as much as I do (2-3x a week). But I can assure you it’s totally worth it; you won’t experience the richness of flavor that Sichuan peppercorn/prickly ash is famous for unless you roast it first. At first, I thought it was the inferiority of the brand I was using… turns out that most any brand regardless of price will taste heavenly if you roast it first. (But I still believe spending a little extra on higher-quality peppercorns will only help!)

With that said, I’ve been trying different recipes of Kung Pao chicken for a while now–always looking for something a little more authentic, a little more spicy. I finally found a few Sichuan-based recipes recently, and have created something based on my preferences that I wanted to share! It’s definitely on the spicier side, so feel free to use fewer chili peppers than the recipe calls for. The bell pepper and diced onions are definitely more American-style Kung Pao than the traditional recipe (which simply calls for diced chicken and scallions), but I liked the sweetness that the vegetables lent to the savory spiciness of the dish.

As I mentioned earlier, I literally do sprinkle the ground Sichuan peppercorn on anything that may conceivably taste good with it, and this recipe is no exception. The numbing spice of Sichuan peppercorn and the heated spice of chili peppers have always paired well together, but they are especially delicious with the kung pao sauce here. The aroma of freshly stir-fried kung pao chicken, dotted with the ground peppercorn, is both exotic and mouth-watering. Much, much more appetizing than the standard kung pao you’ll find at American Chinese restaurants, I guarantee it.

My favorite part of this dish has always been the roasted peanuts; I love the mix of both flavor and consistency that peanuts bring when added. I cheated and used dry-roasted, non-salted peanuts for this recipe… but if you have the time and the energy, shelling and frying raw peanuts gives a stronger, smokier flavor to the overall dish that ready-made peanuts can’t quite accomplish. Just be sure to be vigilant and stay at the stove when frying them, as they will burn very quickly if not under constant watch!

If you prefer using chicken thighs over chicken breast (and I almost always do), you can skip the marinating if you’d like. But I would do it anyway, as I think the small amount of xiaoxing or cooking wine used gives the chicken complexity. I know most people prefer how much easier breast is to cut through than thigh… no fat to trim or uneven pieces to measure. In this case, the marinade “velvets” the drier chicken breast meat and makes it more appetizing to eat.

This main dish is on heavy rotation in our kitchen, and I hope it finds its way to your as well.

I mentioned when I made the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus recipe that I was literally astounded at how easy it was for me to make hummus, and how ridiculous it made me feel for spending money on tiny amounts of hummus at the store over the years. Well… that opened up a Pandora’s Box of possibilities to me, and so I’ve started making my way through all of my favorite hummus flavors.

The beauty of making your own hummus is choosing the strength of flavor you’re trying to impart in the hummus. Commercial companies have to make something that pleases most people’s palates; but when you make hummus at home, you get to cater to your own taste buds. That was the happy case with this recipe for me. I’m in love with the combination of spinach and artichokes in all kinds of things (lasagna, dip, pasta, etc.) but I always felt that the spinach artichoke hummus that I’d bought in the past was a bit bland. So, I ended up using the leftover water in the artichoke can instead of the chickpea water to intensify the artichoke flavor… and I loved it!

Hummus is an amazing dip–it’s already packed with its own distinct flavor, but still functions as a blank canvas for all kinds of flavor combinations. Like I said earlier, you’ll probably see a lot of different types of hummus flavors pop up on here from time to time. Forgive me in advance, okay?

In the past, I’ve been more than happy to pass the grilling responsibilities onto James. I figure that I do a vast majority of the cooking, so asking him to be in charge of grilling was only fair. (James, being an incredibly agreeable husband, has never had an issue with this assumption.) But now that he’s back at the hospital for 60+ hours a week, I’ve lost my grillmaster! It’s not that I haven’t grilled things before in the past–it’s just that I’m lazy and I don’t prefer to and I dislike smelling like smoke and man, that grill is so hot and stuffy… the list of excuses goeth on. But when the craving for chicken kebabs came rolling in, I had to suck it up and become my own grillmaster.

We have a communal grill at our apartment complex, and I had never used it before… so my attempts at lighting the propane gas were an embarrassing comedy of errors. I was keenly aware of the people walking around the common area; while I’m sure they were just carrying on with their lives, my eyes kept darting up to them as they walked by. Do they know? Can they tell how much I suck at this? And I think there was a part of me that hoped they could sense the increasing waves of desperation. Somebody put me out of my misery and tell me what I’m doing!

Thankfully, I was able to get the grill going after a few minutes of struggle (I kept trying to light the side of the grill that was broken–figures!) and life was beautiful… and I was redeemed!

All of that (self-imposed) drama aside, these kebabs were the first thing I grilled on my own–and they were completely worth the embarrassment. The yogurt marinade is so flavorful and really helps the chicken from drying out. The combination of paprikas, along with the coriander and cumin, adds complexity to the tangy flavor of the yogurt and make these kebabs absolutely addicting.

You can absolutely make these kebabs with chicken breast meat if you like, but I prefer chicken thighs. They’re a bit more work since you have to trim fat and fascia, but they dry out much less easily and their flavor is more concentrated.

I don’t know when it started, but somewhere in the last two years, hummus became a staple in our fridge. We tried different brands, different flavors, different things to eat it with… and all the while, I always complained about how expensive it was relative to other less healthy dips. And yet, without fail, hummus would still end up in the fridge regardless of my moaning and groaning.

I mean… hummus is freaking delicious, so it’s worth it in the end… right?

Well, that’s what I told myself until I finally decided to stop being so lazy and make hummus on my own. Now that I’ve made a few batches, I definitely feel silly about putting off making my own hummus sooner. I chose to make our hummus with roasted red bell pepper because I think the sweetness of the roasted pepper tempers the sharpness of the raw garlic.

The most important tool for making hummus at home with little effort is a food processor–very, very important! It doesn’t have to be fancy; even the cheapest one should suffice since the toughest ingredient you’ll be chopping up is chickpeas. You can make hummus without a food processor, of course… but it’ll be way more labor-intense (think hand-grinding the garlic and chickpeas into a paste).

Tahini paste is a little expensive up front–I bought mine at the grocery store for $7.00–but seeing that you only use 3 Tbsp. of it in this recipe, it’s pretty cost-effective to have it around (especially if you eat hummus as much as we do). I’ve made dressings as well as hummus with the paste, so I think it’s a worthwhile purchase. You should be able to find it in the “Ethnic” part of your grocery store; I encourage you to check out a smaller, ethnic food store if you can. If all else fails, then Amazon sells it… then again, what does Amazon not sell?

I’m sure no one else needs this reminder except me, but garbanzo beans and chickpeas are two names for the same thing. So if you can only find one or the other at the store, don’t worry–that’s what you need to buy!

You can enjoy this recipe with whatever you prefer–pitas, pita chips, various vegetables… James loves eating hummus with grilled chicken but I prefer to eat hummus with bell peppers. Whatever makes you happy!

涼拌黃瓜 (liáng bàn huáng guā), or cucumber salad, is a very common appetizer at many Taiwanese restaurants and is a personal favorite of mine. Because I love this simple dish so very much, I’ve gone through many a trial trying to get the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, salty, and spicy down pat. And the number of recipes I’ve found online have varied so wildly that I feel as if I’ve tried every conceivable version of this appetizer… really, you’d be surprised at how many ways you can make this (and how many of these versions are definitely not worth the time or effort).

The biggest thing I learned on my cucumber journey (which is what it felt like at times) is that these are not pickles, they’re a salad. Hello, Captain Obvious! But seriously, this tastes best when the cucumbers are freshly tossed with the sauce and served immediately after. The cucumbers are at their crunchiest, and their cool, fresh flavor still stands up well to the strong flavor of the sauce.

The second most important aspect of this dish is the way the cucumber is prepared. If you’re using your standard dark-green English cucumber, you’ll need to peel and de-seed the cucumber before tossing it with the sauce. The seeds hold a lot of water and dilute the sauce if you leave them be. And getting rid of the peel allows the cucumber to soak up the sauce on all sides… yum!

You can also choose to use Persian cucumbers; these do not require peeling or de-seeding and tend to have a much crispier texture. The flavor of Persian cucumbers is a little stronger, but I think it’s just as delicious–and less work! They’re a little more expensive, but worth it if they’re available to you.

These taste great as an appetizer before any Asian-style meal or even alongside the meal, especially if you’re serving it with rice or the main dish is especially salty or strong-flavored. I love these so much that I eat them on their own and can finish this amount in one sitting… but I wouldn’t use my habits as an example!

Taiwanese food is amazing, and this cucumber salad is just the very basic tip of the iceberg. Look forward to me posting more recipes as I work my way through them, and I hope you enjoy this one!

Did I do a good job of guessing your initial thoughts on seeing my newest health concoction? Don’t worry, you’re not alone–my husband is not a fan of the appearance, either. But don’t let the color or those conspicuous little dark flecks of green fool you: this shake is basically strawberry-banana-flavored with a healthy dose of protein to boot.

So I’ll be honest: I can’t do juicing. I think that the green juices are especially… not enjoyable to drink. It’s all the rage in LA right now (and everywhere else at this point, I’m sure), but I’ve never had a problem with eating vegetables in the first place. If I like eating veggies, and enjoy preparing them in different ways, then why on Earth would I drink them instead–barring a medically-necessary all-liquid diet?

But when I wake up in the morning and I want a shake… well, why not take the opportunity to “power it up” with some healthy protein? Also: ‘Hm, what’s lying around in my fridge?’ And that’s how this shake came to be!

It’s a bit tart due to the greek yogurt, but the tartness balances out the sweetness of the pineapple and banana very well. And it’s all-natural, friends–no added sugar or 2% fruit juice here! The frozen pineapple, frozen strawberries, and yogurt give the shake body and prevent it from being overly thin, and the kale blends in so well that you can barely taste it. If you want to pump your shake up with even more protein, I’ve thrown spinach into the mix as well–but it definitely leaves more of a leafy aftertaste in the mouth.

The last thing I’ll mention is blender technique–yes, there’s technique to it! Make sure that you can always see a vortex at the center of the blender when it’s on. This ensures even mixing of the ingredients. If you don’t see the vortex or it looks like the ingredients aren’t moving around, try adding a tablespoon or two of water and turn the blender on again. That should do the trick!

April has been the craziest month–no lie. With all of the traveling I’ve been doing recently, it’s been hard to muster the energy to make or bake anything in the kitchen (as you can see by my prolonged absence). It’s been even harder for me to convince myself to make anything more indulgent than vegetable soup or chicken breasts, since we’ve been doing nothing but gorging ourselves on junk whenever we’re away. But sometimes, I need a break: I need something that’s indulgent.

Sometimes, a baker’s gotta bake.

I was writing an article on how to make pie crust from scratch for DIYready.com (hello, plug!) and it put a little idea worm in my head–sure, making pie is a bit of a commitment for some, but making crumble bars is quick, easy, and easy to share. And since I’ve been mulling over the idea of using strawberries and rhubarb together recently… this recipe popped out of my head and into the oven!

If you really want bars but don’t want to make the preserves from scratch, I completely understand–you can easily substitute 1½-2 cups of strawberry preserves (or whatever you prefer) and still get a fantastic bar out of it. But if you’re willing to put in the ~10 minutes of work to get fresh strawberry-rhubarb preserves, I highly encourage it. I love the sour, spiky flavor of the rhubarb with the tart sweetness of strawberry. I love it even more with a little bit of cinnamon and pepper–yes, pepper!–to sharpen the flavor. The sharpness of the preserves, paired with the mild sweetness of the crumb and bottom crust, make for a very tasty bite.

If you do end up having leftover preserves after spreading them on the bottom crust in the baking dish, it’s okay–you can put them in an airtight container and use them up to a week. Or…

A Great Idea: pairing the preserves with vanilla ice cream.

An Even Greater Idea: pairing the preserves with vanilla ice cream and eating the ice cream with the crumble bars.

Hey, when I say I’m indulging… I like to go all-out.

I hope you get the chance to try these–they are pretty delicious! And they’re a great way to make friends at your next potluck, office party, or what-have-you. I made James take a large batch of them with him to his lab meeting today and they were a hit. Or, you know, you could just keep them at home and share them with yourself. I’m not here to judge…

About

Hi! My name is Kris, and I started this site in May 2013 to chronicle my love of food--making it, taking pictures of it, eating it... you get the idea. If you leave this site hungry or determined to make something you see on here, then I've done my job. Happy eating!

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